Disclosure Fiasco: Fox Hosts Luntz To Praise Rove Ad

Fox News hosted GOP pollster Frank Luntz to praise a recent anti-Obama ad as "powerful" and "one of the best ads of the campaign." Neither Luntz nor the Fox hosts mentioned that the ad was produced by the super PAC American Crossroads, a group co-founded by Fox News political analyst Karl Rove, or that Crossroads has paid Luntz's firm this election cycle.

Luntz's November 5 Fox & Friends appearance kicked off with a series of interviews he had conducted at Romney campaign events with parents of young children. As explained by Luntz, these parents were worried that their children "would not grow up in the America they grew up in." Luntz then transitioned to a political ad he had "dial-tested" a week ago, labeling it "one of the best ads of the campaign and it does focus on this inter-generational concern and anxiety."

Fox News then aired the ad in full, with the exception of the disclosure at the end indicating its creator. In fact, the ad was released by Rove's American Crossroads last month. Onscreen text identified it as a "Political Ad" and a "Romney Ad." Both Luntz and the Fox & Friends crew failed to mention that it came from a Fox employee's political group:

Compounding the disclosure problem, Luntz did not mention that his firm, Luntz Global, has done business with American Crossroads during this election cycle. In March, American Crossroads paid Luntz Global $46,301 for "SURVEY/POLLING."

Luntz, who reportedly organized a 2009 meeting of prominent Republicans to orchestrate a plan to win back the White House and Congress, was recently hired by CBS News as a political analyst.

Fox News has repeatedly failed to meet basic standards of disclosure this election cycle and has regularly helped promote the work of Rove's Crossroads political groups.